Hike plans A & B

I have finished my planning for the first third of my hike. I will be coming home after completing it for a couple of weeks. During my hiking I will do the planning for the second and third sections of my hike. I am waiting to plan the following sections till I learn from experience my hiking speed.

 

I started my planning by dividing the distance into thirds. I then figured how fast I would have to hike to return home by my target date of April 15. To make this schedule I would have to hike around 18 miles many days. The first section of the AT has many mountains. I am not sure I can accomplish that speed. I made a B plan. In this plan I figured I would hike 7 to 8 hours a day and camp after that. I figured about 14 miles a day. Here is the difference in out come of the two plans.

 

Hike Plan A: Covers 92.9 more miles than Hike Plan B.

Plan A: 52 Days. End April 13 at Daleville, VA. 727.8 miles. N37.393829 W079.906586. For plan A hiking speed: 14.0 miles/day, including zero days.

Plan B: 51 Days. End April 12th. at Pearisburg, VA. 634.9 miles. N37.33065 W080.750381. For plan B hiking speed: 12.449 miles/day, including zero days.

Once on the trail I will strive to be closer to plan A. One option is to cut out some of my zero days. But, I want this to be an enjoyable adventure and not just a goal. The zero days help that happen, so I don't want to give them up. The first week in both plans are the same. I have fewer miles each day, about 13. I am hoping that I find 15 to 20 miles is attainable and enjoyable after getting use to hiking.

Here are my plans. What do you think?

TRAIL HIKING PLAN A

NOTE: Flexibility is key for a hassle free hike.

The love of the hike and adventure, and not the schedule.

 

This is an aggressive hiking plan. Not sure I can do it in the Southern section of the AT called Southern Mountains. I have developed a Hiking plan B which doesn’t cover as many miles each day.

 

Total miles of trail: 2,186.

Divided in three parts: 728.6 miles.

Start February 22, 2016.

Section 1: Springer, Georgia to Daleville, VA., 727.8 miles. Fly out of Richmond, VA.

Section 2: Daleville, VA. 727.8 miles, to Kent, NY. 1467 miles. Fly out of JFK.

Section 3: Kent, NY., 1467 miles, to Katahdin, Maine. 2,186 miles.

 

Figure 18 miles a day. One day off a week. 108 miles a week. Note that the difficulty varies greatly along the trail. In some locations will do more miles, in others less. Total weeks will be 20 weeks = 5 months. Add 2 weeks for section 1 and 2 that makes the entire hike 6 months long. If I start the hike February 22, 2016 I will finish the end of August, 2016.

 

WEEK 1:

 

Day 1: Feb. 22, 2016. Monday. Drop off to Springer is 1 mile. Springer: N34.626705 W084.193848. Springer to Horse Gap parking 10.5 miles on trail. Horse Gap parking: N34.655613 W084.105659. Total day distance is 11.5 miles. The first week I am going to do less than 18 miles per day to get conditioned.

 

Day 2: Feb. 23. Lance Creek Restoration Area. N34.707863 W083.984970. 24.4 miles. 13.9 for day.

 

Day 3: Feb. 24. Cowlick Mountain. N34.721588 W083.856453. 36.8 miles. 12.4 for day.

 

Day 4: Feb. 25.m Blue Mountain shelter. N34.817234 W083.766769. 50.5 miles. 13.7 for day.

 

Day 5: Feb. 26. Addis Gap. 64.1 miles. N34.863258 W083.65029. 13.6 for today.

 

Day 6: Feb. 27. Dicks Creek Gap. 69.6 miles. N34.912163 W083.618896. 5.5 for day. .5 miles to Top of Georgia Hostel. Will spend two nights there in Hiawassee.

 

Day 7: Feb. 28, Sunday. Zero day. Visit Hiawassee.

 

WEEK 2:

 

Day 8: Feb. 29. Standing Indian Mountain. 87.9 miles. N35.035404 W083.538040. 18.3 for day. Want to make. Looks like great place to camp.

 

Day 9: Mar. 1, 2016. Fock Gap shelter. 106.0 miles. N35.091454 W083.523087. 18.1 for day.

 

Day 10: Mar. 2. Wayah Shelter. 120.8 miles. N35.187855 W083.561966. 14.8 for day.

 

Day 11: Mar. 3. Nantahala Outdoor Center. 137.1 miles. N35.331223 W083.591896. 16.3 for day. Stay at hostel if available. Eat at restaurant.

 

Day 12: Mar. 4. Brown Fork Gap Shelter. 153.1 miles. N35.374058 W083.733849. 16 for day.

 

Day 13: Mar. 5. Birch Spring Tentsite. 171.9 miles. N35.502083 W083.814003. 18.8 for day.

 

Day 14: Mar. 6, Sunday. Derrick Knob Shelter. 189.0 miles. N35.566532 W083.641823. 17.1 for day.

 

WEEK 3:

 

Day 15: Mar 7. Newfound Gap. 207.3 miles. N36.611187 W083.425255. 18.3 for day.

 

Day 16: Mar 8. Zero day. Gatlinburg, TN. or Cherokee, NC. Ship supplies to zero day city. App refers to Gatlinburg.

 

Day 17: Mar 9. Tri-Corner Knob Shelter. 222.9 miles. N35.693832 W083.256569. 15.6 for day.

 

Day 18: Mar 10. Davenport shelter. 237.7 miles. N35.769577 W083.123268. 14.8 for day. (NOTE: Very bad reviews for Standing Bear Farm. 241.0 miles. Don’t stay there.)

 

Day 19: Mar 11. Roaring Fork Shelter. 256.4 miles. N35.804882 W082.949707. 18.7 for day.

 

Day 20: Mar. 12. Hot Springs, NC. 274.6 miles. N35.892399 W082.828049. 18.2 for day.

 

Day 21: Mar. 13. Sunday. Zero Day. Stay at Hot Springs.

 

WEEK 4:

 

Day 22: Mar. 14. Little Laurel Shelter. 294.0 miles. N36.015133 W082.735924. 19.4 for day. No place to camp before it. Mom’s Store for a treat at Allen Gap. 289.1 miles.

 

Day 23. Mar. 15. Flint Mountain Shelter. 307.2 miles. N36.034882 W082.596619. 13.2 for day.

 

Day 24. Mar. 16. Bald Mountain Shelter. 326.1 miles. N36.000114 W082.478104. 18.9 for day.

 

Day 25. Mar. 17. Uncle Johnny’s Hostel. 343.0 miles. N36.105637 W082.448456. 16.9 for day.

 

Day 26. Mar. 18. Cherry Gap Shelter. 360.0 miles. N36.129288 W082.263870. 17 for day.

 

Day 27. Mar. 19. Roan High Knob Shelter. 377.5 miles. N36105076 W082.122231. 17.5 for day.

 

Day 28. Mar. 20. Sunday. US 19E. 393.8 miles. N36.177357 W082.011642. 16.3 for day.

 

WEEK 5:

 

Day 29. Mar. 21. Zero day. Mountain Harbour Hostel. .5 miles to west. City Roan Mountain to west, Elk Park to east.

 

Day 30. Mar. 22. Moreland Gap Shelter. 412.2 miles. N36.220200 W082.088303. 18.4 for day.

 

Day 31. Mar. 23. Watauga Lake Shelter. 429.0 miles. N36.313862 W082.129517. 16.8 for day. Check, may be closed because of bear activity. Was closed in 2015.

 

Day 32. Mar. 24. Iron Mountain Shelter. 443.0 miles. N36.435379 W081.990936. 14 for day.

 

Day 33. Mar. 25. Abingdon Gap Shelter. 458.9 miles. N36.580978 W081.901711. 15.9 for day.

 

Day 34. Mar. 26. Damascus, VA. 469.1 miles. N36.635025 W081.789215. 10.2 for day

 

Day 35. Mar. 27. Sunday. Zero day. Damascus, VA.

 

WEEK 6:

 

Day 36. Mar. 28. Campsite. 487.5 miles. N36.639397 W081.638908. 18.4 for today.

 

Day 37. Mar. 29. Old Orchard Shelter. 508.5 miles. N36.683231 W081.510887. 21 for today.

 

Day 38. Mar. 30. Campsites. two at 525.1 & 525.3. 525.1 miles. N36.772396 W081.488831. 16.6 for today.

 

Day 40. Apr. 1. Campsite. 544.5 miles. N36.904240 W081.371826. 19.4 for today.

 

Day 41. Apr. 2. Campsite. 562.7 miles. N37.031288 W081.422829. 18.2 for today.

 

Day 42. Apr. 3. Sunday. Jenkins Shelter. 577.1 miles. N37.093422 W081.247658. 14.4 for today.

 

WEEK 7:

 

Day 43. Apr. 4. Campsite. 594.0 miles. Last water at 581.9. N37.128155 W081.074455. 16.9 for today.

 

Day 44. Apr. 5. Campsite. 610.7 miles. N37.188522 W080.892365. 16.7 for today.

 

Day 45. Apr. 6. Woods Hole Hostel. 623.9 miles. N37.253540 W080.847420. 13.2 for today.

 

Day 46. Apr. 7. Zero day. Or go to Pearisburg and have rest day on Day 47, Apr 8th.

 

Day 47. Apr. 8. Pearisburg: 634.9 miles. N37.333065 W080.750381. 11 for today. Stay at Plaza Motel. 540 921-2591

 

Day 48. Apr. 9. Pine Swamp Branch Shelter. 654.4 miles. N37.422119 W080.608467. 19.5 for today.

 

Day 49. Apr. 10. Sunday. Laurel Creek Shelter. 672.9 miles. N37.358986 W080.420959. 18.5 for today.

 

WEEK 8:

 

Day 50. Apr. 11. Campsite. 687.7 miles. N37.375809 W0-80.247757. 14.8 for today.

Day 51. Apr. 12. Johns Spring Shelter. 702.1 miles. N37.365959 W080.152870. 14.4 of today. Get a shuttle to Roanoke, VA to get a transportation to Richmond, VA to fly home. OR if push on and go to Johns Spring Shelter. 709.0 miles. N37.385204 W080.073860. 21.3 for today.

Day 52. Apr. 13. Daleville. 727.8 miles. N37.393829 W079.906586. 18.8 for today. Spend night. 14.0 miles per day (including break days).

Day 53. Apr. 14. Travel to Roanoke and on to Richmond.

 

Day 54. Apr. 15. Fly home.

 

TRAIL HIKING PLAN B

NOTE: Flexibility is key for a hassle free hike.

The love of the hike and adventure, and not the schedule.

 

Hiking plan A is built to complete 1/3 of the miles, 728.6 miles, by the middle of April. I do not believe I will be able to accomplish that. I have come up with a plan B. Plan B will be based on hiking 7 to 8 hours a day. I will try to keep it closer to 7 hours a day. The length will depend on where there is water and camping areas. In this plan the first week will be the same as plan A as it isn’t that difficult. I will also still plan to average a zero day every week. If necessary I might give up a zero day to try and get closer to 1/3 the miles before the middle of April. What ever my location is on the trail I will plan to head home around April 15th, 2016.

 

Total miles of trail: 2186. Note that the app shows 2189.2 miles. Official quotes state is as 2186 miles.

Divided in three parts: 728.6 miles.

Start February 22, 2016.

Section 1: Springer, Georgia to ___________________.

Section 2: __________________ to Kent, NY. 1467 miles. Fly out of JFK.

Section 3: Kent, NY., 1467 miles, to Baxter Peak, Katahdin, Maine. 2,189.2 miles.

 

Figure 14 miles a day. At 7 hours that is 2 miles an hour. One day off a week. 84 miles a week. With hiking at this slower rate I will finish in September, 2016.

 

WEEK 1:

 

Day 1: Feb. 22, 2016. Monday. Drop off to Springer is 1 mile. Springer: N34.626705 W084.193848. Springer to Horse Gap parking 10.5 miles on trail. Horse Gap parking: N34.655613 W084.105659. Total day distance is 11.5 miles. The first week I am going to do less than 18 miles per day to get conditioned.

 

Day 2: Feb. 23. Lance Creek Restoration Area. N34.707863 W083.984970. 24.4 miles. 13.9 for day.

 

Day 3: Feb. 24. Cowlick Mountain. N34.721588 W083.856453. 36.8 miles. 12.4 for day.

 

Day 4: Feb. 25.m Blue Mountain shelter. N34.817234 W083.766769. 50.5 miles. 13.7 for day.

 

Day 5: Feb. 26. Addis Gap. 64.1 miles. N34.863258 W083.65029. 13.6 for today.

 

Day 6: Feb. 27. Dicks Creek Gap. 69.6 miles. N34.912163 W083.618896. 5.5 for day. .5 miles to Top of Georgia Hostel. Will spend two nights there in Hiawassee.

 

Day 7: Feb. 28, Sunday. Zero day. Visit Hiawassee.

 

WEEK 2:

 

Day 8: Feb. 29. Muskrat Creek Shelter. 81.4 miles. N35.020706 W083.581444. 11.8 for today.

 

Day 9: Mar. 1, 2016. Betty Creek Gap. 97.6 miles. N35.028320 W083.478477. 16.2 for day.

 

Day 10: Mar. 2. Tent site & stream. 110.8 miles. N35.122677 W083.556824. 13.2 for day.

 

Day 11: Mar. 3. Cold Spring Shelter. 125.6 miles. N35.231323 W083.559677. 14.8 for day.

 

Day 12: Mar. 4. Nantahala Outdoor Center. 137.1 miles. N35.331223 W083.591896. 11.5 for day. Stay at hostel if available. Eat at restaurant. (This stop is one day behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 11.)

 

Day 13: Mar. 5. Brown Fork Gap Shelter. 153.1 miles. N35.374058 W083.733849. 16 for day. (This was day 12 on plan A.)

 

Day 14: Mar. 6, Sunday. Fontana Dam Shelter. 165.6 miles. N35.448494 W083.794128. 12.5 for day.

 

WEEK 3:

 

Day 15: Mar 7. Russell Field Shelter. 179.8 miles. N35.561657 W083.766464. 14.2 for day.

 

Day 16: Mar 8. Siler’s Bald Shelter. 194.8 miles. N35.5644274 W083.568153. 15 for day.

 

Day 17: Mar 9. Newfound Gap. 207.3 miles. N36.611187 W083.425255. 12.5 for day. (This stop is two days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 15.)

 

Day 18: Mar 10. Zero day. Gatlinburg, TN. or Cherokee, NC. Ship supplies to zero day city. App refers to Gatlinburg. (This was day 16 on plan A.)

 

Day 19: Mar 11. Tri-Corner Knob Shelter. 222.9 miles. N35.693832 W083.256569. 15.6 for day. (This stop is two days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 17.)

 

Day 20: Mar. 12. Davenport shelter. 237.7 miles. N35.769577 W083.123268. 14.8 for day. (This stop is two days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 18.)

 

Day 21: Mar. 13. Sunday. Ground Creek Shelter. 248.3 miles. N35.781689 W083.026230. 10.6 for day.

 

WEEK 4:

 

Day 22: Mar. 14. Cat pen Gap. 262.8 miles. N35.837231 W082.919937 14.5 for day.

 

Day 23: Mar. 15. Hot Springs, NC. 274.6 miles. N35.892399 W082.828049. 11.8 for day. (This stop is three days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 20.)

 

Day 24: Mar. 16. Zero Day. Stay at Hot Springs. (This was day 21 on plan A.)

 

Day 25. Mar. 17. Spring Mountain Shelter. 285.4 miles. N35.951790 W082.790001. 10.8 for day.

 

Day 26. Mar. 18. Jerry’s Cabin shelter. 300.8 miles. N36.056606 W082.657120. 15.4 for day.

 

Day 27. Mar. 19. Hogback Ridge Shelter. 316.0 miles. N35.964081 W082.587128. 15.2 for day.

 

Day 28. Mar. 20. Sunday. Whistling Gap. 329.5 miles. N36.018631 W082.436859. 13.5 for day.

 

WEEK 5:

 

Day 29. Mar. 21. Uncle Johnny’s Hostel. 343.0 miles. N36.105637 W082.448456. 13.5 for day. (This stop is four days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 25.)

 

Day 30. Mar. 22. Cherry Gap Shelter. 360.0 miles. N36.129288 W082.263870. 17 for day. (This stop is four days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 26.)

 

Day 31. Mar. 23. Ash Gap. 375.7 miles. N36.114784 W082.135323. 15.7 for today.

 

Day 32. Mar. 24. US 19E. 393.8 miles. N36.177357 W082.011642. 18.1 for day. (This stop is four days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 28.)

 

Day 33. Mar. 25. Zero day. Mountain Harbour Hostel. .5 miles to west. City Roan Mountain to west, Elk Park to east. (This stop is four days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 29.)

 

Day 34. Mar. 26. Tent site. 409.8 miles. N36.217285 W082.058411. 16 for day.

 

Day 35. Mar. 27. Pond Flats. 424.2 miles. N36.282429 W082.118690. 14.4 for today.

 

WEEK 6:

 

Day 36. Mar. 28. Tent site & Spring. 440.1 miles. N36.406227 W082.018616. 15.9 for today.

 

Day 37. Mar. 29. Abingdon Gap Shelter. 458.9 miles. N36.580978 W081.901711. 18.8 for day. (This stop is four days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 33.) Maybe stop at Queens Knob Shelter. 457.5 miles.

 

Day 38. Mar. 30. Damascus, VA. 469.1 miles. N36.635025 W081.789215. 10.2 for day. (This stop is four days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 34.)

 

Day 40. Apr. 1. Zero day. Damascus, VA. (This stop is four days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 35.)

 

Day 41. Apr. 2. Lost Mountain Shelter. 484.9 miles. N36.644394 W081.655876. 15.8 for day.

 

Day 42. Apr. 3. Sunday. Many Camp sites. 498.2 N36.656414 W081.524246. 13.3 for today. Get water at Thomas Knob Shelter. 497.3 miles, .9 miles before camp.

 

WEEK 7:

 

Day 43. Apr. 4. Hurricane Shelter or Hurricane Shelter tenting. 512.6 miles. N36.714287 W081.509911. 14.4 for today.

 

Day 44. Apr. 5. Partnership Shelter. 531.5 miles. N36.809525 W081.422371. 18.9 for today.

 

Day 45. Apr. 6. Campsite. 544.5 miles. N36.904220 W081.371826. 13 for today. (This stop is five days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 40.)

 

Day 46. Apr. 7. Campsite. 562.7 miles. N37.031288 W081.422829. 18.2 for today. Water .2 miles ahead at 562.9 miles. (This stop is five days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 41.)

 

Day 47. Apr. 8. Jenkins Shelter. 577.1 miles. N37.093422 W081.247658. 14.4 for today. (This stop is five days behind plan A hike. On plan A was here on Day 42.)

 

Day 48. Apr. 9. Halves Mill Shelter. 592.4 miles. N37.130795 W081.102989. 15.3 for today.

 

Day 49. Apr. 10. Sunday. Campsite. 606.3 miles. N37.160221 W080.924622. 13.9 for today.

 

WEEK 8:

 

Day 50. Apr. 11. Tent site. 621.1 miles. N37.245800 W080.850098. 14.8 for today.

 

Day 51. Apr. 12. Pearisburg: 634.9 miles. N37.333065 W080.750381. 13.8 for today. Stay at Plaza Motel. 540 921-2591. For trip: 12.449 miles/day, including zero days.

 

Day 52. Apr. 13. Travel to Richmond.

 

Day 53. Apr. 14. Fly home.

______________________________________

 

On Hike Plan A: 92.9 more miles than Hike Plan B.: Plan A: Day 52. Apr. 13. Daleville. 727.8 miles. N37.393829 W079.906586. 18.8 for today. Spend night. For trip: 14.0 miles/day, including zero days.

 

 

 

Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015; Central Park, NY; practice/test hike; 16.4 miles; 3.6 mph

Today I was in New York City. Perfect cool fall day. A few showers in the morning. I decided it would be good for a practice/test hike/walk. I have walked around Central Park before. To get 15 miles I had to walk around it twice! I did it. Here is the report.

 

I left the hotel at 0830. It was forcasted to rain in the morning and discontinue in the afternoon. 60% chance at 0800. As I left the hotel it was a light mist, so I was fine. Once in the park it did rain hard for 20 minutes. I took out my umbrella and kept walking. It was great. I wonder why I haven't carried an umbrella before. I will have one on my Appalachian Trail hike. It was a good test for seeing how hiking with an umbrella worked out.

 

After it stopped raining, the only time it rained, it got warmer and I took off my jacket. I had a nap sack with water, fruit, snacks, ect. It all did good except the bananna I had which was at the bottom. When I took it out after 8 miles it was mush. I just threw it away. The apple was good.

 

The fall colors are beuatiful. Here are a couple pictures. I probably took more pictures than I will in a day on the trail.

 

 

 

 

From my title you can get a pretty good summary. I will be using the same format for every day on the Appalachian Trail. I will be adding the day number on the trail and how many for miles to go plus other items.

 

Today I walked 16.4 miles in 4 hours, 38 minutes. That made an average speed of 3.6 mph. I was hoping to be 4.0 mph or better. It isn't my walking speed, it is the stopping. My speed included the stopping for bath room breaks, picture taking, and drinking. Also the busy streets of NY didn't help any on the way back to the hotel.

 

My legs starting aching at the half way point. They did good all the way with no cramps. I was wearing running shoes. My feet did good. The bottoms were sore by the time I finished, but no blisters. I was as sore as I expected to be, actually probably better than I expected to be.

 

It was very enjoyable today. I am looknig forward to my "Walk in the Woods." Name of current movie out about hiking the Appalachian Trail.

 

Downloaded Guthook's AT App

At the beginning of October I downloaded Guthook's AT App. It covers every mile of the trail with details and pictures. It will be what I use to plan my hike. I am excited as I can start planning. If you are interested in seeing what it has avialbe you can get a free section. It is the Springer approach trail. It covers 9 miles before the official start of the trail. That is what I used to determine that this was the app to get.

 

Friday, Sept. 25, 2015; Wasatch front to Morgan, 15.1 miles, training hike, 11hrs 15 mins, 1.34 mph

Friday, September 25, 2015

 

Today I did a test / training hike from home to Morgan. I wanted to try some things.

 

1. How would I like hiking 15 miles by myself. Answer: I loved it. It just verified to me that I really would like hiking the Appalachain Trail.. When I was in high school I would go fishing by myself. My mother would ask how I could enjoy doing that by myself. I don't know, but I do know I liked it.

 

2. I just bought some boots. I was concerned how they would work out with my orthodics. Around the house they were feeling a little tight. This morning just before starting the hike I cut the foot pad so it covered my toe section and had my orthodic cover from the ball of my feet to the back. I wore two pair of socks. It was a tough hike on my feet with steep up and down mountains.. Just what I wanted so I could test my new boots. They did great. Not one blister, or hot spot. I am very glad as that relieves a major concern of mine. Blisters and feet.

 

3. I wanted to train and see how I felt at the end of 15 miles. I was very tired. I need to condition more to get up my endurance. I made a major mistake and didn't take enought water. That caused me to get weak faster. I had enough water for six hours, but not 11 hours. In the future I will always take my pump, and purification pills.

 

I had a problem with severe cramps in every muscle in both legs. I had the first one just as I reached the top of the Wasatch Front, abut 5 1/2 miles into the hike.. I had many as I went down hill. In all of my years of hiking I have never had even one cramp from hiking. I also have very few at home. When we hiked to Mnt. Whitney a couple weeks ago we hiked 14 1/2 miles on the last day. I had no cramps on that hike. Since I started taking vitamins and minerals to help with my cholestrol about 4 weeks ago I have started having some cramps. I think my problem might be related to that.

 

Here are the statistics:

 

Left home at 0615. Finished at first home I got to at 1730.

Reached the top of the Wasatch Front at about 1000. Hike time 3:47.

Elevation at top was 9320. Elevation climbed: 4597'. Elevation descened: 143'.

Elvation at destination: 5510'. Elevation descended: 4790'. Elevation climbed: 1115'.

Distance 15.1. I made my 15 miles goal. Average speed: 1.34 mph. Far short from my goal of 3 mph. I am happy that I averaged 1.34 after what I had to go through. The speed on the first 5 miles while climbing to the top was 1.3 mph. That is what I expected. I had hoped to make close to 3.0 mph for the entire hike. I felt good about what I accomplished.

 

In summary I had a very tough hike because my iPad App showed trails and roads where there were not any. I ended up bushwacking about 7 miles out of 15. I got my legs scratched up because I wore shorts. Linda was concerned because it took 11 hours instead of the 6 I planned on. She was concerned I would be stuck in the wilderness for overnight. I could see my destination the entire time and had cell phone coverage except when in a ravine. There is no question in my mind that this hike was tougher than any portion would be on the Appalachian Trail. The only thing that could make the Applachian Trail tougher would be the weather. The weather on this hike was perfect. It was clear skies and mild temperature. A perfect temperature for hiking.

 

As a note I got off the trail 8 times. This happened because there was no real trail and I would follow possible trails. I had to back track to get back on my route up or down the mountain. These side tracks helped me get my 15 miles, but also slowed down my total time, and thus slowed down my speed.

 

Here are the details.

 

 

 

I left home while it was still dark. I got to the Peterson's and found the trail without a problem. It lead to the trail that goes along the base of the mountain. I started following it expecting to see the trail turn uphill. I realized that it was not going to head uphill. It was still dark. There had been a sign showing the trail being the one I was on. I then realized that was where I should have turned uphill. Rather than backtracking I headed uphill. At this point I started wishing I hadn't worn shorts. It would be a long day of scratching and making my legs bleed. It was interesting to me how I could just plow through even though ever scractch and bleeding hurt.

 

Once I got on the trail it went well. The trail was very clear. It went slow as it is about a 45º climb. The trail continued up to the thumb and the cabin past that. After that I lost the trail again. Very tough going. I had to go through some high brush. I finally found the trail again, but would lose it off and on as it wasn't a well established trail. Where there wasn't any brush it would disappear. Where there was brush I could follow it, but it had brush into it which scratched my legs. I finally got to the top. That was about 5 miles horizontal.

 

It took just under 4 hours to get to the top. There was a crystal blue sky and crisp breeze. It felt great. Here is a picture back toward home.

 

Here is a picture toward the east, toward Morgan.

I walked toward the south on the established trail along the ridge. I walked about 1/2 mile. It was great being on a well maintained established trail.

I turned uphill to get right on the ridge so I could hike down to Smith Creek Lake that sat below the ridge line. My app was very helpful in determing where to climb up the hilll. The trail had swung aroung the west side of a peak. As I started up the very steep bank I got my first cramp on my right upper inner thigh. If I would have know I would continue to get them I would have turned around, called Linda, and head back down toward home. So much for hind sight. My thinking was that with going down hill I would not get the cramps. I didn't get any more for quit awhile. I was probably 1/3 the way down before I started getting more. After that it was every muscle in both legs. Fortunately, I could just stand, stretch and in about 4 to 5 minutes they would go away. I could then start hiking again.

It was beautiful looking down on the lake. Here is a picture. Morgan is in the background. As I said earlier I could see my destination once I was over the ridge and had phone contact 90% of the time. I had several text and phone conversations with Linda and Cambria.

It was pretty much no trail down the hill. My app showed a trail following the stream all of the way down. I kept looking for it. I was thinking that there was a trail at one time. I would run into sections that appeared to be a trail that would end abruptly. I had several roads / 4 wheel trails cross the stream. One I started to follow, but when it went around a ridge it started uphill. The problem with following any of the crossing roads/trails is that they all left the stream and gave no indication if they were headed uphill, or down and how long they would go before turning down. So, ever time I figured it was better to stay with the stream that always headed down and with the some times trail.

Here is a picture looking back up from where I came from. At this point I started following a road. I gave up on it after about 1/3 of a mile because it started going uphill. This is about 1/3 the way down the hill. The upper part was the easiest part of the bushwhacking. Later got much worse. Up above was pretty much open. This is where I expected to pick up a good trail. No more bushwhacking, I thought. Boy was I in for a surprise.

The plan was for me to be out in about 6 hours. Linda and Cambria came to pick me up. We sent text back and forth in which I told them I was way behind on schedule because of not having a trail. I would be hours longer. They decided to take Cambria back and then come get me when I called. That was a good decision. Before they headed home I gave them my coordinates because I thought I was coming to a road. They tried to get to me but ran into locked gates. When I got to the road, any way where the app showed there was one, there wasn't one. It was a canal, a dried up, washed out one. I was very disappointed. I again came to a crossing trail. I started following it as it followed the canal. After a 100 yards it ended.

I pretty much followed the washed out canal. Finally there developed a good cattle trail. Not the straightest, but at least out of the brush. By this time I was out of energy. Good thing I was headed down hill.

After about an hour I finally got on the dirt 4 wheeler road that was on the app. Then I saw a sign showing lots for sale. I still had to go through a gate. Then I finally got to the first house which I had been looking at for several hours. As I came up to it 3 young men riding four wheelers came up to me. I told them I needed some water. That I had been hiking all day. They were amazed that I had hiked over the mountain. They probably thought I was crazy. They asked why I had done it. I explained my Appalachian Trail hike. They were very nice and gave me two bottles of water and filled my 2 liter water bladder. I drank both bottles. I called Linda and she headed out to get me. Sharlyn called me at that time, just as I was having leg cramps. I tried to talk, but had a tough time. I called her later and explained why I didn't talk much.

One of the young men gave me a ride down to the main road. That saved me at least 1 mile of walking. It was paved downhill road so it would not have been to bad. The entire time I was in his truck I was having leg cramps. I don't think I would have had them if I had been walking, but not sure. I was glad to get the water and the ride.

In future

I will make sure I do a better job of hydrating myself. I am not sure the shortage of water caused the leg cramps. I have been as thristy before and never got cramps. I will also take some cramping pills which I think are mostly salt.

while waiting for Linda I called Nathan. He said he lies down to help the cramps go away. I did that and they did go away. While lying there I laid my head back on my backpack and drank water from my bladder. The young man had put ice in it. It was wonderful. I then made phone calls to people that had called me. Cambria, Sharlyn, and Mark Oakes. I also talked with Linda to help her with directions. When Linda got there I started to get up and immediately had cramps. I laid down again. She loaded my hat and backpack. She was a real life savior. I rolled over and did a push up to keep my legs straight. I climbed in the back. Linda had lowared the back seat. I road home flat as I could. My legs didn't cramp as long as I laid there. When I got home they cramped a little as I got out. I took the cramp medicine Linda had. I kept standing. I didn't have any more cramps, even when I got in the bathtub, or went to bed. I did get a small one in my lower outside left leg that would wake me up. I would stretch it, it would go away, and I would fall back to sleep. After this happening about 4 times I massaged it really hard and didn't have any more cramps. I slept through the night.

The next day my legs were sore like from a long hike. I wasn't sure if it was from the hike, or cramps. Either way in a couple days they felt okay. My scratches are healing. I am keeping Neosporin on them. Hopefully, that will help not have to many scars.

Linda was very good in being patient with me while I was havng cramps. She was so concerned about me that she was wondering it she should call in rescuers. She called Tyler who reassured her that I was fine and able to spend the night in the woods if I needed to. I got out several hours before dark. If the cramps had been bad enough I could have spent the night. It would have been fun except for trying to convince Linda I was okay. I would have been a little cold, but nothing dangerous. I would have had to drink out of the creek. There were a lot of cows around. So, sickness would have been a possibility.

Overall though, it was a great hike.